Explorer program opens up world of law enforcement
By Gloria I. Wang
Seven years ago, Leigh High School student Merissa Merkt was an athlete who had no interest in law enforcement but who was eager to start gaining some volunteer experience. With her mother's encouragement, Merkt became involved with the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department--first as a Volunteer in Policing, then as a Police Explorer, a program designed for teenagers.
"As I was doing the Explorer stuff," Merkt says, "I totally fell in love with everything" in law enforcement.
These days, Merkt is a police officer for the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. She recently graduated from the police academy and is now in her training period. She credits the Explorer program with her chosen career path.
According to detective Randy Bishop, head advisor for the Explorers, the program serves to expose youth to the different aspects of law enforcement, ranging from police ride-alongs to traffic control at community events and writing up reports of violations.
"This is an opportunity for kids who are interested in law enforcement to volunteer their time, to do their community service," Bishop says.
Bishop, along with officers Leyton Howard and Michelle Stanfill, oversee the Explorers, which currently number two. Bishop, however, is looking to recruit more participants; ideally, he says, there would be 10 teens in the program, although they've had as many as 15.
To qualify for the Police Explorers, a student must be at least 14 years old or have graduated from middle school and maintain at least a 2.0 grade-point average. Explorers need not live in Los Gatos; in the past, Bishop has worked with teenagers from both Los Gatos and Leigh High schools. The application process consists of a written questionnaire, followed by an oral interview and then a background check.
Teens accepted into the program must then go through an eight-week Santa Clara County Law Enforcement Explorer Academy. There, participants learn about criminal laws, military drills, traffic investigations and evidence search and seizure, Bishop says. Then it's off to work in the department until they leave for college or turn 21.
Merkt, now 22, stayed on as an Explorer while she earned her degree in sociology from San Jose State University and attended Police Academy. During her tenure as an Explorer, Merkt acted as an Explorer sergeant and then captain. Her senior year in high school, Merkt was chosen to attend an FBI National Leadership Academy; she spent two months in Washington, D.C., learning about the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Secret Service.
When Merkt was approaching her 21st birthday, the department asked her to take on a paid internship.
"The Explorer program made me more of a straight and narrow-type kid," Merkt says. The more write-ups she does on youth who have destroyed other people's property, Merkt says, "the more I hate the stupid high school-kid pranks that we did."
"I was never a bad kid," Merkt says, "but I did crazy things."
According to Bishop, the Explorer program is sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. Though the Boy Scouts are not involved beyond paying for insurance and other funding, Explorers are, for all intents and purposes, Boy Scouts--even the female Explorers.
Merkt says the training for Explorers now includes role-playing in training for narcotics investigations and K-9 exercises, which wasn't part of Explorers when Merkt started.
One of the major selling points to high school students is that Explorer experience "does look very good on college applications," Merkt says, laughing.
Any teenagers interested in applying for the Explorers can contact Bishop at 408.354.6854.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
